[freegeek-news] FreeGeek Quarter 2, 2008 Newsletter

Tue May 27 20:05:13 PDT 2008

Free Geek's email newsletter has come your way yet again!  Free Geek's Outreach 
Committee brings you the news-around-the-Geek once every quarter.  Special 
thanks to Laurel Bates and Ali Briggs for donating content to this edition.

If you'd like to stop receiving this newsletter, please scroll down to the very 
bottom of this email and follow the instructions.

Contents:

I. Volunteers of the Quarter
II. 2007 Annual Report
III. Staff Comings and Goings
IV. Free Geek's New Truck for Pickups
V. More New Classes
VI. New Website Coming Soon
VII. Happenings Around Town
VIII. Wishlist

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I. VOLUNTEERS OF THE QUARTER

Every newsletter, we take time to thank a volunteer or two who've made a huge 
effort and a huge difference to Free Geek.  This quarter, we'd like to send our 
thanks to Rob Cimiluca and Santiago Carmona.

Rob's been faithfully teaching our weekly Advanced Adoption Classes for many 
months now.  He's steadily improved his teaching methods and continually updated 
his working knowledge of Ubuntu's idiosyncracies in order to better serve his 
students.  He's wonderfully bright, dependable, and interested in improving the 
lives of our Adoption volunteers.

Santiago volunteers daily in Printerland, although he helped Ian build our new 
Printerland area from the ground up.  He created organizational systems, he's a 
quick and tech-happy and -curious learner, and he's wonderful at teaching new 
volunteers to test and disassemble printers.

Thanks so much for your valuable work, Rob and Santiago!

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II. 2007 ANNUAL REPORT

It's here!  Check out some stats for last year by visiting: 
http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/2007_Annual_Report

In 2007, Free Geek:

* Reused roughly 25% of all systems and CRTs
* Recycled about 550 tons of e-waste
* Had a net income of $82,472

Go to the link above for more, and thanks for helping Free Geek continue to grow!

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III. STAFF COMINGS AND GOINGS

Who can keep track of who's coming and who's going these days?  After 4 amazing 
years on the Staff Collective, Martin Chase left to pursue wild adventures in 
South America.  Hopefully he'll keep us updated via a blog or postcards or 
something like that (hint, hint Martin).  Martin's coding and system 
administration responsibilities were split between Vagrant Cascadian and Lantz 
Moore.

And after almost 5 years on the Collective, Shawn Furst will also leave Free 
Geek at the end of May.  Shawn will be funemployed all summer, taking classes, 
gardening, and exploring Portland.  She'll find a worthy place of employ come 
falltime.  Shawn's duties will be split between Laurel Bates and a new Marketing 
Coordinator.

The Staff Collective increased by two well-known folks as well.  Ian Young and 
Darryl Kan were brought on board as Production Coordinator and Recycling 
Coordinator, respectively.  Over the last month Ian has been overseeing the 
Printer Archipelago, coordinating many Adoption volunteers and streamlining the 
refurbishment and recycling of printers.  He has done such a great job 
incorporating volunteers into that area & increasing printer reuse that the 
Staff Collective used the following policy to convert him directly to a 
Collective member: 
http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Converting_Interns_to_Collective_Members

You may recognize Darryl from his recent stint as Recycling Intern.  Darryl has 
top-notch volunteer coordination skills and a shining, happy face.

On the perpetually changing intern end, we welcomed Jacob Fain as our new Front 
Desk Intern.

Go ahead and introduce yourself to Lantz, Vagrant, Ian, Darryl, and Jacob the 
next time you're around!

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IV. FREE GEEK'S NEW TRUCK FOR PICKUPS

Thanks to a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust, Free Geek is now the proud 
owner of a 16' truck!  We hope to use it to encourage more donations from 
businesses and neighborhoods, and to increase visibility at events and around 
town.  We can also now drop off stuff like styrofoam, waste wood, and dirty 
plastic to appropriate local recyclers without paying for a truck rental.  In 
the future, we hope to reduce our e-waste recycling costs by using the truck to 
drop off e-waste commodities like circuit boards, etc. to area recyclers, thus 
saving the fees we usually pay to have these vendors pick up e-waste from us.

Pickups from Free Geek cost a flat fee of $40, plus required CRT monitor ($10 
each) and TV ($1/diagonal inch) fees.  Of course, we always welcome donations 
for all other accepted electronics (see http://freegeek.org/computers.php for an 
itemized list of suggested donations).  Neighborhood events may request free 
pickups.

In the month since we've had the truck, we've already done 5 pickups from local 
businesses.  If you work for a larger company, tell your IT department that Free 
Geek now comes to them!  And have them call us to make arrangements: (503)232-9350.

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V. MORE NEW CLASSES

The Beyond Adoption series expands to Wednesdays! Free Geek offers classes each 
Wednesday (5-6pm) and Friday (12-1pm or 12-2pm, depending on the class). New 
classes include: E-Mail and Internet 101, a Wiki Class, Digital Photo Editing, 
Ebay classes, and a Typing Tutor. Keep your eyes and ears open for more new 
classes in the next few months!

All classes are free to current volunteers, and $10 to everyone else.  To find 
out more, give our front desk a call: (503)232-9350 and dial 0 for the reception 
desk.

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VI. NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON

Keep your eye on our main website (http://freegeek.org) for a big upgrade.  Come 
early July, we'll be switching to Wordpress technology to make updates and 
modifications to the site easier for staff and volunteers alike (our current 
site uses straight html and css, and requires a knowledge of Subversion to make 
modifications).  There'll also be more content and an updated look and feel. 
We've wanted to upgrade the site for many years, and we're excited that the 
change is palpably close.

Take a look in a few weeks and let us know what you think!  Send an email to 
webadmin at freegeek.org with your comments.

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VII. HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN

Pedalpalooza
June 12-28
All around town
Events are low-cost or free

Pedalpalooza is 2+ weeks of bikey fun. With 199 events, most organized by 
individuals, bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of 
interest. Nearly all events are free, and include the World Naked Bike Ride, 
Multnomah County Bike Fair, Wine Tour, gelato ride, taco ride, a few rides to 
outdoor movies, and something called the "Wurst Ride Meat Up" (you'll have to go 
to the online calendar to figure out what that one's about).

Anyone may add an event to the online calendar!  In fact, a few Geeks have 
already added some events on the 21st and 26th (hint: think chicken gladiators).

Check it out: http://shifttobikes.org/cal/viewpp2008.php

***********************************
Farmer's Markets
May through November
Free, but buy some great food from local farmers!

It's farmer's market season, and Portland seems to have one almost every day in 
the summer.  Get your local veggies, meats, starts, bread, and so much more. 
Plus, meet the people who grow your food.

Check http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/directory.html#Portland%20Metro to 
find a market near you.

*************************************
5th Annual
Portland Tour de Coops
Saturday, July 26, 2008
$5

Thinking of raising some chickens in your backyard or expanding your chicken run 
or coop?  This annual event is always a cluckin' good time.  Join other chicken 
enthusiasts and get advice and ideas so you can make a happy, healthy 
environment for your hens.

Go here for more info: 
http://www.growing-gardens.org/portland-gardening-resources/chickens.php (This 
page also lists information on chicken-raising workshops and resources from 
Growing Gardens, a great local non-profit.)

**************************************
Geek Fair!!!
Sometime in July or August
Free Geek

Keep your eye out for a special announcement about Free Geek's annual street fair.

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VIII. WISHLIST

You might not know it, but many of our basic supplies (like printer paper and 
TP) are donated to us by individuals with big hearts and a few extra dollars in 
their wallets (or good scavenging skills!).  We'd very much appreciate donations 
of any of the below:

- Band-aids, band-aids, band-aids
- TP
- Dishwashing fluid
- Simple Green general spray cleaner
- Bleach
- Coffee
- Cream and sugar for coffee
- Dry Erase Markers
- Rags
- Wire and cable cutters
- 8.5" x 11" single-sheet white printer paper (post-consumer recycled content,
  if possible)
- Food and drink for volunteers (especially chocolate)
- Big hugs!

As a quick and easy alternative, we welcome your online monetary donations. 
Just go to our website (http://freegeek.org), and click on the PayPal link on 
the right-hand side of the page to donate to Free Geek online.

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Thanks so much for reading this newsletter, and for supporting Free Geek and all 
its people, dogs, computer stuff, random electronic doo-dads, implements of 
computer destruction, and good times.

Shawn Furst
Volunteer Program Coordinator
Free Geek
1731 SE 10th Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
(503)232-9350
http://freegeek.org

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